Binding Ties
by Dara999
Summary: Edward Nashton is a class skipping intelligent young boy who craves attention and knowledge and Jonathan Crane is a timid and fearful young boy. A friendship forged on self gain and companionship rises and brings out the best in them. (Or perhaps the worst)
1. New Enviromnent -Chap1

**Author Note:** Uhhh well... Sorry for dying for a while, I'm alive and still working on things. This is an AU high school setting and depending on what you say this can be a slash... (I ship Crane and Edward harder than Nutella and my mouth.). X3 I'll probably leave this one more a friendship type story though. Ok well... Enjoy, feedback is always welcome and_constructive_ criticism.

-wWwWw-

16-year-old Jonathan Crane thought that moving to a new high school would be for the better. In his old school the kids would avoid him like the plague, throw stones and taunt him. He hoped by moving school would mean he could start anew and he might actually enjoy his school life. He realised he couldn't be any more wrong as his face hit the ground and his glasses flew off his face. He spat bits of gravel out of his mouth and pushed himself up, this was the third beating this month and the school term had only just begun. It was pitiful really, caving into his fear like this, cowering and running like a frightened animal.

Reaching out to pick up his glasses a foot made contact with his ribcage, sending a wave of pain through his body. No doubt that would leave a bruise, just like the punch to his face, not that anyone cared. He fell on his side and cringed. "Trying to go somewhere Ichabod?" One of the brutes that taunted and beat him said. Ichabod was a nickname they called him because of his thin frame and timid demeanour, scarecrow was one of their other favourites.

"N-no."

"Good, 'cuz we aren't finished with you yet." He taunted, a smirk on his face. Jon just whimpered in response. The leader of this tribe (Bo Griggs) picked his up by the collar and pressed him against a brick wall. The bell went, signalling the end of lunch and Bo looked somewhat disappointed. "I'll see you after school scarecrow…" Jonathan held his breath as his knees hit the pavement. The unjustified punishment was over, for now… The group walked off and Jon hissed against every breath. After some time he got up and shakily picked up his glasses, the corner of the left frame had spider web like cracks running through it, great…

As the bell to signal the end of school for today and by extension the weekend. Jon decides that instead of walking towards the testosterone driven apes he'd hide behind some of the dumpsters at the back of the school, it would be better to wait them out rather than to confront them. Sitting in-between two foetid metal containers he drew the hood of his black jacket over his dark brown mop of a hair-do, trying the blend into the shadows cast by the dumpsters. He sighed; this was still better than back home with his grandmother, how he hated that witch…

Jon reached into his bag and pulled out a sketchbook, when he wasn't being terrorised by his grandmother or being tormented by the school bullies he was reading or drawing. Inside the pages were pencil or ink drawings of twisted shadows and other macabre shapes, some of which were what haunted his dreams. A lot of the images had bird like qualities, specifically crows. Sharp angles and long strokes made the feathers, rounded strokes for the piercing eyes and more sharp angles for the pointed beaks made the beasts in his pictures. Even just thinking about the animals sent a shiver down his spine.

He started to draw humanoid figures with a charcoal pencil, leaving white for the eyes and giving then pointed limbs and talons. "You know sitting there is very unhygienic." Jon jumped almost running the pencil across the page, which would have ruined his picture.

His head snapped to where the voice came from.

A boy with coppery-orange hair, purple round glasses, in a black shirt covered by a green jacket stood across from him with his arms crossed. "Very, very unsanitary. Maybe the garbage collectors will pick you up as well, bet you'd smell bad enough." Jon examined him. This kid wasn't new to the school, he was there before Jonathan had come along. He had a tendency to skip class or come in late; he seemed like a bright kid though... Jon guessed it was just a façade and he wasn't as smart as he claimed to be, however he was always able to answer questions when asked and if he didn't answer them he just avoided the question with questions of his own and the teachers just gave up.

Jon had seen Bo pick on him a few times, and he knew he wasn't a very physical fighter. He'd dodge and make snide remarks, careful not to get himself cornered. He relaxed and turned his attention back to his drawing. "Hey, are you even listening?" His voice picking up an angry tone. "How dare you ignore me, do you even realise how much intelligence you could learn for even just listening to a genius such as myself?!" Jeez this guy was full of himself.

-wWwWw-

"Hey, are you even listening?" Who did this guy think he was just brushing him off like that? "How dare you ignore me, do you even realise how much intelligence you could learn for even just listening to a genius such as myself?!" How ignorant, no one brushed Eddie Nashton off! "Moron, stop looking at that stupid book and listen." This guy was new to the school and it didn't take long for him to become Bo's new target. He was awfully thin and although he was approximately the same height as Bo he was pushed around as if he were more Eddie's size. No one called him by his real name when gossiping, it was either scarecrow or Ichabod, Jonathan was just a name for when they were in class.

Jonathan looked up again, an unreadable expression on his face. "Oh so there is something intelligible in that head of yours." Eddie jeered.

"If you're just going to taunt me can you please piss off, I'm trying to keep away from attention thank you very much… I don't need Bo finding me here… I'm already sure he's given me a black eye and I don't need any more abuse…" Jonathan said in a neutral voice. It was true, Eddie could see the flesh around his right eye becoming dark and swollen. "Sure Bo and his ruffians are tough but you won't have to worry about them on the weekend or in the holidays, consider yourself lucky…" Of course he didn't tell him about his father… If he wasn't yelling at and hitting Eddie he was pretending his son didn't exist. He wouldn't let anyone know, he wanted them to guess and if they didn't guess they wouldn't know. But instead of asking about why he would be lucky Jonathan merely scoffed and went back to his book. SCOFFED. "A-aren't you going to ask why, aren't you curious?"

"No, not really… I've got it hard back home, if you'd even call it a home… You know… I might try to sneak past those brutes instead of talking…" He put his book back in his bag and stood up, heading towards one of the fences running around the school.

Eddie wanted to know what he meant by 'he had it hard back home' and 'If you could even call it a home'. Did he have an abusive parent(s), judging by his clothes maybe his family was fanatically in trouble or maybe he was just being whiny… Eddie wanted to know. He loved all things puzzle, riddle or mystery related. He wanted to know things he didn't, he _had_ to know things he didn't. He almost followed the scrawny boy but decided if he was trying to sneak past unnoticed the bright green jacket Eddie was wearing wouldn't exactly blend in.

-wWwWw-

"Sure Bo and his ruffians are rough but you won't have to worry about them on the weekend or in the holidays, consider yourself lucky…" Lucky? He was too scared to stand up for himself, he just whimpered and cowered not only from the bullies but from his own grandmother! All he could do is scoff in response; this kid had no idea about how terrible it was for him back home. A face of confusion or perhaps disappointment crossed the other boy's face. "A-aren't you going to ask why, aren't you curious?" Curious? No. Annoyed? Yes.

"No, not really… I've got it hard back home, if you'd even call it a home… You know… I might try to sneak past those brutes instead of talking…" With that he put his book and pencil in his bag and headed towards a fence he could climb over. He had the need for social isolation, he'd had enough talking. He wanted to sit in quiet and pretend his problems didn't bother him, to not feel scared for once.

**Author Note: **I'm going through giving this minor changes, just to make it smoother. xoxo


	2. Insight -Chap2

Edward's weekend was spent in his room on the computer (As usual) with his father around the corner pretending he didn't exist. He was browsing various websites, reading different articles, commenting on forums and watching videos. His desk was covered in mechanical odds and ends, wires and a soldering iron. He used bits of discarded technology to fix or create larger projects. He stole something he needed once and was caught, and he got a good beating after that. He usually sold his projects, hiding the money in his room so his father wouldn't accuse him of stealing it.

He turned away from his computer monitor and looked at a jumble of circuitry beside him, it was supposed to be part of a computer; he should probably work on that before bed. He turned on the soldering iron and started to work on fixing some of the wires into their rightful spots. He had taught himself most of what he knew; his need to know about everything and anything was a positive for his education. What the teachers said was usually a repeat of what he already knew, but if he didn't know he'd take mental notes and research it in depth on his own accord.

His mind wandered as it usually did and he found himself thinking about Jonathan. The anti-social new kid who he knew nothing about, he needed to change that.

A sharp pain made its self-apparent on his hand, he recoiled and let out a loud swear. The tip of the soldering iron had left a red spot on the back of his hand. He switched off the iron and jogged to the bathroom, shoving his had under a stream of cold water. "Edward what have I told you about that kind of language?" A gruff and condescending voice called out from down the hall.

"Sorry dad, I didn't mean to let it slip out" He called back.

"What did you do this time you idiot?"

"I burned myself…"

"I told you that bloody little iron would be a stupid buy…"

"It slipped out of my hands, I won't let it happen again…"

"Damn right you won't or I'll take it from you and teach you a lesson." And that was the end of that conversation and Edward went back to being non-existent. Even if Edward's soldering iron was taken from him he could just buy another one, it would take a chunk out of what he had saved however. He sighed and inspected the burn. It shouldn't scar much if at all. His hand still hurt when he clenched his hand into a fist, he'd have to try to not flex his hand too quickly over the next few days. At least he didn't get hit for being a klutz… This time...

-wWwWw-

Jonathan spent his time trying to avoid his grandmother. Hiding in his room, lingering in the bathroom, sitting on the roof and sitting in various places outside. His grandmother had strict curfews in place for where he had to be and when at certain times.(Bed time for example). If he wasn't where he was supposed to meant it was 'the evil inside him conspiring against his grandmother and the town they were in' and that meant he had to spend the night in the church… He shuddered at the thought.

The church… His worst fear… God he hated it when his grandmother made him go in there… The church was a nesting place for a murder (how fitting) of crows… His grandmother would force him to wear a dirty white shirt and grey pants that had some sort of chemical on them. Whenever he went near the church the crows would attack him, enraged at the chemical he was wearing. The murder attacking him was a sign that 'the devil was possessing him'. He was pretty sure it was just away for his grandmother to make herself feel important in the community, what with 'trying to get the devil out of her grandchild' and 'keeping the rest of the community safe by housing the devil'. It was all bull-shit.

"Jonathan, its time for you to get changed." The old woman called out to the upstairs attic. Jon shivered a little and reluctantly went down stairs. His grandmother was waiting for him in the living room, the clothing draped over the couch. Jon knew the drill, get changed, follow the hag, be attacked, then be dragged out the next morning and told to go get ready for school like nothing happened.

He took the clothing and discarded his own, he was lead out the to church once he had changed. An overwhelming sense of fear made his knees shake, he didn't want to do this, he never did. Some of the crows had already begun cawing, ruffling their feathers and circling the church.

The sky was such a nice shade of orange and pastel purple, shame he was being forced into a dark and gloomy old church with the murder. The sound of the heavy wooden doors closing brought tears to Jon's eyes, here we go again… He ran to duck under one of the seats and that's when the murder went berserk. The crows started attacking him from all fronts, Jonathan covered his head with his arms, the vicious birds leaving peck and scratch wounds.

He cowered under the small space between the cobweb-covered underside of the chair and the cold stone ground while the birds tried swooping at him. It wouldn't take long for them to figure out they had to land on the ground to peck at him, he savoured the few minutes of refuge…

Early the next morning the crows had gotten fed up with the screaming and writhing child in their home, they had flown off after the creature had started flailing wildly and hitting some of their birdy brethren.

Jonathan was in a cold sweat, lying on the cold ground with lots of little wounds on his arms, legs and a few on his face. Jon heard the groaning doors of the old church open and the light of early morning seep into the gloom. He whimpered and stuck to the shadows, he could hear the occasional caw of a crow outside. "Jonathan get up, you need to get ready for that school you were so eager to go to…" He stuck to the dark not moving, he hoped the hag would just leave him be. A firm hand grabbed his shoulder and yanked him to his feet. "I said get up devil spawn!" He whimpered and walked out unsteadily.

Once back at 'home' he unenthusiastically got into his black shirt and khaki pants, throwing his black hoodie over the top. As he trudged out into the cold air white flecks started to fall from the sky. He looked up and let the flakes fall onto his face, taking his glasses off. The cool frozen water felt nice on his black eye, thank goodness the swelling had gone down. He neared the school library, he was too early for the brutes and that's just how he liked it. As he neared the library doors a loud shrill caw shook his whole body, he jumped shrieked and turned to see a crow scavenging not too far off. Could it smell the chemical still on him? He wouldn't be surprised if it could. The crow cawed again and flapped its wings. It probably could. "It's just a bird stupid, calm down." He turned again to see the boy from yesterday leaning in the library doorway.

-wWwWw-

"It's just a bird stupid, calm down." Jonathan spun to face him, he truly looked terrified of the black bird.

"Y-you don't understand, it can smell it! It's going to attack me!" Jonathan made a b-line for the library, knocking Edward out of the way. Just as he was about the shout at the kid for pushing him but the crow cawed loudly and flew towards Jonathan, he quickly scrambled inside and closed the doors. "Geez you weren't kidding were you? What did you knock its nest or something?" Jonathan just shook his head.

"I-I told you… It can smell it… I don't want to talk about it, especially not to an arrogant person like you…" Arrogant?! It? What was wrong with this kid?

"What's 'it'?" Edward's curiosity asked.

"I said I don't want to talk about it!" The lanky kid stormed into the bowels of the library.

When Ed caught up to him he was already drawing in his sketchbook. "Your eye looks better…" It was a mundane way to get him talking but small talk usually got people conversing.

"Thank you for showing so much concern about me on Friday, a real pal…" He didn't bother looking up at Edward' one second this guy's shaking in fear and the next he's as cold as ever.

"Do you want me to get you an icepack and call your mother?" Edward gibed. The next thing he registered was the flying sketchbook hitting his face, Ed let out a short cry of alarm.

"Talk about my mother again and I'll throw a brick next." For a guy that was always running he was surprisingly condescending at times.

"Don't threaten me, everyone else pushes you around if that's what you want I can push you around too." Jonathan seemed to shrink a little at Eddie's threatening tone.

"P-piss off…" Jonathan stuttered. Eddie picked up Jonathan's book and placed it back on the desk. "Look, I'm sorry about the mother thing, happy? My mum isn't around much so I know how it feels…" Edward only received another scoff in response, maybe this kid was bipolar. "What's so funny?"

"Your ignorance…" Ignorance?!

"Excuuuuse me? Ignorance? I'm not ignorant!" A loud shush came from the librarian.

"I beg to differ, I mean you are shouting in a library." Jonathan smirked.

"You can shut up… I swear I'll hit you… I'll bloody punch you in the face…" The smirk dropped from his face and he went quiet, looking back to his sketch book.

"Please don't…"

"Are you bipolar because one second you're insulting me and the next you're begging." Ed crossed his arms.

"Just go away, I'm already going to have to deal with Bo today…"

Edward sat across from Jonathan and put his dark purple boots on the desk. "You know they pick on you because you don't fight back…"

"No shit… You must be a genius…" Edward frowned at his snide remark but quickly turned it into a remark of his own.

"Oh so you finally acknowledge my intelligence~"

-wWwWw-

"Oh so you finally acknowledge my intelligence~" Jon rolled his eyes.

"What do you want? How do I make you go away?" A grin spread across the flamboyant boy's face.

"Good question. I love questions. I'll go once I know everything I want to know about you."

Jon hesitated. "Like what?"

"As much as I can… Like why you have scratches on your arm, why you're terrified of birds, what 'it' is and why you're say you've got it hard back home."

"Those are some very specific questions….." Jon shifted uncomfortably.

"Curiosity tends to get the better of me."

"Curiosity killed the cat…"

"The cat also has nine lives."

"What if that was it's last?"

"Then good thing I'm not a cat then, hmmmm?" Jon closed his book. This guy was so annoying, yet in an odd way it was nice talking to someone even if it was just frustrating banter. Maybe he was just trying to get close to him so he would be easier to ridicule later.

"Well first off I'm not scared of birds, just crows... I'm Jonathan Crane, I'm from Georgia and go fuk yourself…"

"Pfffft, so crude….. Georgia? Shouldn't you have a Bumpkin accent?" He just kept presenting more questions one after the other.

"I hate it, it makes me sound uneducated…" It was true, the accent made him feel like he belonged on a farm and not at high school.

"Fair enough… I'm Edward Nashton, I live kinda' close to the school. Nice to be formerly aquatinted." No ridicule? No jabs? He must be luring him into a false sense of security!

"Just tell me what you want? What's the catch here?"

"There is no catch, let's just be friends." Edward stuck his hand out, putting his shoes back under the desk. No one ever _wanted_to be his friend. At his old school there was a dare to get close to the 'devil child', it as like a game of chicken; whoever could get a conversation without running or getting told off by a fickle parent won.

"Did Bo or one of his followers dare you?"

-wWwWw-

"Did Bo or one of his followers dare you?" How absurd, although he supposed it made sense as to why he was anti-social. He must have had a bad experience with people pretending to be friends.

"No I just want to know about you and since you won't just tell me I'll have to find out myself." Jonathan looked unsure.

"You mean it? No tricks?"

"Just friends… Are you going to accept the offer or am I making friends with the air?"

"Alright…. Friends…" To be honest this would be the first proper friend he'd made in a while. The others had drifted as Edward became to amazingly smart for them and started skipping classes. It was nice to know they had come to terms with each other.


	3. Plans and Dirty Tricks -Chap3

Edward and Jonathan had decided to his in the library all day only leaving to go to class. (More so in Jonathan's case and not Edward's). Edward was currently sitting in their spot playing on his phone, you'd think Jon would be on time but no… He had been sitting in their lunch spot for 10 minutes now, deciding that was too long to wait he went out to look for him. You'd think after a few days of this he'd learn… Oh well at least it hadn't snowed since Monday, Edward didn't feel like trudging through snow.

It wasn't long before he found Jonathan running from Bo, the lanky kid crashed into one of his lackey's chest and promptly fell backward onto his butt. "There's nowhere to go scarecrow, you owe us for running last time. I'm gonna finish before the bell this time." A grin plastered itself to Bo's face. Jonathan's eyes widened and he scrambled away only to have Bo grab him by the back of his hoodie.

"Hey Bo, what do you call an ugly 10 ton gorilla?" Bo's head snapped around, glaring at him.

"What? Do you want to get a bashing too Nashton?"

Edward smirked. "You'll find the answer to the riddle in the mirror." Bo stared with a dumbfounded look on his face, Ed wondered how long it would take for him to realise he had just insulted him.

"No one likes your stupid riddles Nashton!" Aaaaaand his insult was wasted on the boy with the intelligence of a brick wall.

"You and your simple mind… You completely missed the point…" Bo threw Jonathan to the ground and headed in Ed's direction. Uh oh.

"Are you trying to piss me off?"

"I wouldn't say trying." Edward pulled the most innocent face he could. Bo went to grab Edward's shirt, Edward jumped back. "Careful with those hands Grigg, someone might think you're trying to hurt me."

"I am!" He swung a punch and Ed ducked.

"Almost got me with that one." Two of Bo's lackey's joined the fight, forming a small circle. He needed to get somewhere it was safe. Dodging a kick and ducking under another punch Edward went to bolt. He got a few meters away before he was tackled to the ground. "Ok you got me! I'm sorry!"

"You're gonna get it Nashton."

"I'll write you math notes for the next test! I can accurately guess what will be on it!" The oaf dragged Edward to his feet and shoved him into Bo.

"No deal riddle boy!" A fist met his head and Edward's world went spinning. He had experienced this feeling before, he was all to familiar with the dizziness and the moment of disorientation that came hand in hand. The next thing Edward registered was the familiar smell of books and the chilled breeze of the air conditioner. Edward's hazy vision fell upon a panicked Jonathan, he was saying something but that punch must have been near his temple and Jonathan's speech wasn't registering.

"Whaaaaa?" Was all he could say with his slowly clearing mind.

-wWwWw-

The punch to Edward's head must have hurt, he looked totally dazed. Bo threw him on the ground and got ready to kick. He had to do something, Edward was his…. friend. Jonathan filled both of his hands full of dirt and small pieces of gravel and he then threw them at Bo and his gang's eyes. It was a dirty trick but it worked. He then grabbed Edward, pulling him to his feet. He didn't know how fast he ran but before he knew it he was in the library, in the safe haven. "I-I-I stood up to them… We're gonna get it… We're dead meat if we leave the library…."

"Whaaaaa?" Edward groaned. Edward needed to sit down for a few minutes, let the spinning stop… Jonathan set him down on a chair and the librarian came over to ask if he was alright. Jon just replied that he was just feeling sick and seemingly satisfied, she left. "Ugh… By god that was a good punch…. Ow…." Edward hissed, his eyes squeezing shut.

"You looked really dazed…. How… How are you feeling?"

"Terrible…" Edward opened his eyes and looked and him. "You're really pale… Like you've seen a ghost… How did you get us away?"

"I-I threw dirt… In their eyes… I s-stood up to them..." His voice seemed to pick up a note at the latter statement but soon went back his worried and monotone voice. "And they're going to hurt us…. S-so badly…" It was true, they wouldn't just get off for this... They'd have to hide, somewhere really good….

-wWwWw-

"And they're going to hurt us…. S-so badly…" Edward could see the fear and concern in Jonathan's eyes. They'd have to stick by teachers and in the library… Or… Edward already skipped classes and went to school late, maybe Jonathan and him could miss a day or two…

"We could always, you know… Not come to school…" Jonathan looked at him as if he just suggested they murder a puppy, but fear was still in his eyes.

"No."

"Why not? It means we wouldn't have to do work for a day or more."

"I-I can't…"

"Strict parent or parents?" Jonathan went silent.

"… You could say that…"

"What are one or two days? I could forge a note saying you're excused…" Jonathan shook his head and mumbled something. "Who's going to notice?!" A hissed shush from the librarian sounded.

"It doesn't matter, I-I just can't do that… There's rules… I can't afford to break them…"

"Rules were made to be broken…" With a note no one would look twice, it would be fine. What didn't Jonathan understand from that?! Jonathan avoided eye contact with Edward, he obviously still wasn't sure. "Jon… Jonny… Crane… Buddy… it's a few days just so we let Bo cool down, not like it's the end of the world if you don't go. You seem smart, not as smart as me but it's not fair to compare your intellect with mine." Ed put a hand on his chest and smirked. Jonathan rolled his eyes and a small smirk crossed his face.

"I-I guess so… But if we get in trouble… I'm gonna get in big trouble at home…" The last word was spoken with distain.

"No worries, I'm sure it'll be fine." Well, probably. When Edward started skipping class his father wasn't too happy, with a bruised face and limbs he couldn't exactly go to school either. For about a week it was a vicious cycle of beatings and missing school. The week afterwards his father had given up on Edward so he used this time to recuperate and read up on what he had missed. He had found it much easier to work in the comfort of his own room rather than in a rowdy classroom, sure his social skills would deteriorate somewhat but he was alright with that.

-wWwW-

"I-I guess so… But if we get in trouble… I'm gonna get in big trouble at home…" Jonathan wasn't a fan of this idea… If his grandmother found out... He dreaded to think how many nights she'd make him sleep in the church, or maybe she'd come up with some kind of new and unusual punishment.

"No worries, I'm sure it'll be fine." He sounded confident, that comforted Jon somewhat. Jon rubbed his arm.

"Ok…. I'll… I'll do it…. You sure it'll get Bo off our backs?"

"His tiny mind can't remember more than a few days' worth of memory."

"You better be right…"

"Don't worry Jonathan, we'll be hiding in here anyway. He'll forget about it eventually. The staying out of school thing is just a precaution." He did like to idea of not having to deal with Bo and his lap dogs. But what would they do to kill time and not be seen my anyone that would ask them why they weren't at school…

"What will we do in the meantime? And how will we not get caught?"

"We can sit on a rooftop, no one bothers to check there… Sometimes thugs and stoners hang up there sometimes so you just have to keep out of their way." Hanging around on roof tops with thugs and drug addicts, great…

"That doesn't sound too safe…"

"Better than hanging around with Bo." He supposed that was true...


End file.
